Dept. Q cast and character guide: Who plays whom in Netflix's new series

Dept. Q, the nine-episode British crime thriller, was just released on Netflix on May 29, 2025. Set in the port city of Edinburgh, Scotland, the series follows a group of misfit officers who try to solve cold cases. Our protagonist is Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck, who has a past he cannot run from.

The official logline of the Dept. Q, as per IMDb, reads:

“Carl, a former top-rated detective, is wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralyzed and another policeman dead. On his return to work, Carl is assigned to a cold case that will consume his life.”

Check out the rest of the article to know more about the cast and characters of Dept. Q.

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Dept. Q: Who plays whom?

Matthew Goode, the English actor, plays the protagonist, Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck, who sets up the cold case unit, Department Q. Scott Frank, the writer and director of Dept. Q spoke with Tudum by Netflix about casting Goode as Carl Morck. He said:

“I’ve been working with him since 2006.”

Frank continued:

“Matthew just felt like this guy. I was writing with him in mind. I knew that he could do this and that he would lend this undeniable intelligence with his flintiness, but that he could also be emotional without being sentimental.”

As for Mathew Goode, the actor told Tudum by Netflix about Scott casting him in the Dept. Q, saying:

“This is the second time that he’s given me a role I don’t think anybody else would’ve cast me in.”

Goode elaborated:

“In The Lookout [Frank’s 2007 directorial debut], it was a Kansas criminal bank robber, which I don’t really scream. And in this, again, I wouldn’t have necessarily seen that in myself to play this kind of role.”

Coming to the other cast members, you will see Chloe Pirrie playing Merritt Lingard, a prosecutor. You might remember Jamie Sives from Guilty (2019-2023). In Dept. Q, he plays Detective Chief Inspector James Hardy. Mark Bonnar plays Stephen Burns, and Alexej Manvelov, best known for Chernobyl (2019), stars as Akram Salim, a Syrian cop forced to escape to Europe, and is now a part of Department Q.

Leah Byrne plays Detective Constable Rose Dickson and Kate Dickie, best known for playing Lysa Arryn in Game of Thrones (2011-2019), plays Detective Chief Superintendent Moira Jacobson. Shirley Henderson stars as Claire Marsh, while Kelly Macdonald stars as Dr. Rachel Irving, the police therapist, and Tom Bulpett plays William Lingard.

The cast and the characters they play are the core of the show. Other than solving cold cases and maneuvering personal problems, the show reflects an unlikely team that somehow works. Scott Frank told Tudum about the characters:

“If you watch a show like Cheers, you’re not watching it because you’re interested in a bar in Boston.”

He continued:

“It’s not the situation that makes you watch it, or the comedy. It’s these people.”

Matthew Goode also speaks highly of his castmates. As he told Tudum about the casting choices:

“[Scott] assembled one of the finest casts I’ve ever gotten to work with,” he said. “It’s just an incredible playpen for an actor.”

He continued:

“Leah Byrne is a stone-cold star,” he added. “I felt like I've known Jamie [Sives] for a long time, we just get on so well… Alexej [Manvelov] is joy, pure joy, capital J.”

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Dept. Q is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.

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